Three Act Plot Sheet

All story plots have a structure.

The only question is if it’s a good structure or not.

Some writers love plotting a novel before they write it. Others hate the idea of outlining and just
want to discover the story as they write it. Either method is fine. But whatever method you
choose, at the end of the day, you need to make sure your story has a structure--whether you
create the structure at the beginning of the writing process, or discover it during or after the
writing process.

There are multiple competing story structures out there, but the Three Act structure is both the
most flexible and effective plot structure and is present in the vast majority of published stories.
For new writers, this is our top recommendation; even for experienced writers, this is still one of
the most versatile and useful structures you can use to plot out your novel.

Read on to learn how to use our fillable plot sheet.

How to Use the Fillable Plot Sheet

Different writers have slightly different versions of the three-act structure and use slightly
different terms for the following plot points, but the basic format remains the same. The first
quarter or so of your novel constitutes the First Act, where you set up the main plot and
characters of your story. The middle half of your story constitutes the Second Act, where you
complicate and develop the story. Finally, the last quarter constitutes the Third Act, where you
bring everything home for a rousing finish.

There are different ways to approach plotting the three acts, but for newer writers, we
recommend using nine key scenes to do so. For each scene, we’ve put the approximate
percentage point this scene should occur in an ideal novel.

For each key scene, replace our explanation text with what is going to happen for each plot point
of your story.
Fillable Plot Sheet
Protagonist Plot Goal
Before you start plotting scenes, you need to determine what your protagonist’s plot goal is
going to be for the story. Think about what your protagonist needs or wants that will direct most
her choices over the course of the story, and that will not be resolved until the story’s end.

The Characteristic Moment         Ideal Percentage Point: 0-5%

This is going to be one of the first scenes (if not the first scene in your book) where you
introduce readers to your protagonist. Give your protagonist something to do in this scene that’s
going to reveal the essence of her character and paint a vivid first impression in your reader’s
mind.

The Inciting Event         Ideal Percentage Point: 10-15%

While your plot should have begun before this moment, this is the moment where the main plot
of the story clearly comes into the picture and the protagonist is forced to engage in the story’s
main plot. Think about what event is going to personally get your protagonist invested in the
main plot of your story. This is where your protagonist will first realize what her plot goal is.

The Push Point (Alternate Name: The 1st Plot Point)         Ideal Percentage Point: 20-25%

This point marks the transition from the First Act to the Second Act of your story. At this plot
point, your protagonist is forced to commit herself to her plot goal. The inciting event began her
involvement, but here she’s forced to commit to the point of no return. Consider what will force
the protagonist to resolve on accomplishing her goal no matter what the challenges.

The First Major Test         Ideal Percentage Point: 30-35%

The Second Act is all about throwing a variety of tests and trials at the protagonist. Often,
though, there’s going to be a key test halfway between the push point and the midpoint that
rattles the protagonist’s world. Think about something your villain or antagonistic force can
throw at your protagonist that will deeply shake her and challenge her dreams of success.

The Midpoint         Ideal Percentage Point: 50%

This is one of the most important scenes in your novel. In the midpoint, everything changes for
the protagonist. Before, she was more reacting to the villain and his plans. At the midpoint, the
protagonist often has a key character revelation that changes the way she views the conflict and
the way she plans on handling the conflict. After this point, she will be more active than reactive.

The Second Major Test         Ideal Percentage Point: 60-65%

You will want more tests and trials than the two key ones we’re drawing out in this outline, but
you will want at least two. This test is going to be similar to the first test: find something else
that will shake the protagonist’s world. In this one, however, the protagonist needs to be more
active than reactive in her response to this test, and will likely pass it more readily.

The Lowpoint         Ideal Percentage Point: 75-80%

This point marks the transition from the Second Act to the Third Act. This will be the darkest
moment in your story, because your villain or antagonistic force needs to appear to have won.
The protagonist will lose terribly and doubt if she can succeed in her story goals. This forces her
to re-commit to her goal one last time and returning to the playing field stronger than ever.

The Climax         Ideal Percentage Point: 90-95%

This is it--the moment where your protagonist finally obtains or fails to obtain the goal she’s
been trying to achieve the whole story. This needs to be the biggest, most captivating part of
your story, because this is where you need to make a killer last impression. Create a high-
suspense, high-tension scene that challenges the protagonist for everything she’s got..

The Resolution         Ideal Percentage Point: 100%

Your protagonist has achieved her story goal (or failed to achieve it if you’ve written a negative
arc, but we’ll presume a positive arc). Now, present her with her reward for succeeding. How is
life going to be better now that she has won? Show us in your story’s conclusion how the actions
of the book has made her a better person and brought her to a better place.

And with that, you now know the nine key scenes needed to have a compelling three act
structure.

If you do a negative character arc, you’ll only need to make a couple plot tweaks: turn the
lowpoint into a highpoint where the protagonist thinks she’ll win (instead of thinking she’ll lose),
and then use the resolution to show the negative consequences of the protagonist’s poor
decisions.

For a positive character arc story, however, all you’ll need to do is follow the above suggestions.

Nail down these nine key scenes, and you should have a great head start in structuring your
novel.